The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight was the most important boxing match in years, yet the principal event failed miserably to live as much as the billing. Still, outside of the timid twenty-something throwing jabs at an elderly man, there was a whole lot of good that went down in Dallas on Friday night, and afterward, Paul had a pleasant message for all involved.
“Thanks to each fighter on the cardboard last night, thank u Netflix, thank u Jerry Jones, thank u to my MVP team, thank u to the legend Mike Tyson for giving me a likelihood to share the ring with him, thank u to my family and shut circle of friends..and above all, thanks God,” the social media star posted on X, formerly Twitter.
While thousands and thousands all over the world tuned into Netflix hoping to see one last vintage “Iron” Mike Tyson performance, what they got was exactly what the event actually was: An amateur boxer fighting a 58-year-old. That said, while Jake Paul-Mike Tyson didn’t deliver the products, the 2 fights before it — Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos and Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano — absolutely did.
The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard was implausible
While Paul-Tyson was a bust, Paul and his boxing promotion company, MVP, presented a card that delivered for fight fans right as much as the principal event.
Featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Jr. defeated Dana Coolwell via unanimous decision, lightweight Lucas Bahdi beat Armando Casamonica via majority decision, and super middleweight Shadasia Green bested Melinda Watpool via split decision before the Netflix broadcast began.
The show itself began with super middleweight Neeraj Goyat taking down Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision in a fight that began strong but faded because the boxers looked as if it would gas within the later rounds.
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Things picked up, though when welterweight champion Mario Barrios faced off against Abel Ramos. Barrios knocked down Ramos early before the contender knocked the champ down a number of rounds later. This one went all the way down to the wire but Barrios retained his belt in an entertaining fight that led to a split draw.
In a rematch of their 2022 Madison Square Garden classic, lightweight champ Katie Taylor took on Amanda Serrano. Taylor headbutted Serrano multiple times, opening a nasty cut above her right eye. The ref deducted one point from the champ, but that wasn’t enough for Serrano to win as Taylor retained in a unanimous decision.
After the fight, the entertainment didn’t stop. Serrano and her trainer each teed off on Taylor, calling her a unclean fighter.
